When Shadows Fight The Light
by Blondezilla90
Summary: Finn just couldn't help himself. He had never seen Rachel this broken. He knew he had to make things right and he was aware he had to show her she'd never be alone. All she needed was a friend and he was determined to be there for her.
1. It's a cold, cold world

Long A/N ahead. Skip if you don't want to hear me ramble about the backstory of this.

Okay, so this is a fan fiction I wrote last year after the whole Special Education/Christmas debacle in season two. At that time I w helping someone through a rough time and I wanted to get my feelings about it out in the open. Leroy's condition is based on my friends mother, who endured the same fate as he will in this fan fiction. I am not making up any medical assumptions here, because this really happened like this.

Furthermore I was really upset with the way they handled Finchel at that time as well as the Glee club usually is protrayed. It always seems lovey dovey and I do not agree. Those people have done wrong a lot. Since I am a sucker for drama, I wanted to combine my need to write this medical based story as well as finding away to explain Finchel Season 2. I am using the dramatic aspect of this Fic what in my mind would have made them both crack a little and talk.

So this is my take on the whole thing that happened, along how Rachel would be affected by one of her dads being seriously ill. I know there are a lot of fics like that out there, some of them not the best and I am not claiming to be the best either. I just needed an outlet and I think I am finally in the right state of mind to finish this Fan Fic. I have already typed up the first four chapters. I don't know how long it will take to finish either. I promise you all, that I will finish An Innocent's Shadow as well.

_**This fan fic is unbetaed. So any mistakes are mine.**_

**Chapter One **

Finn Hudson was hunched over in his seat in the choir room, staring at the others as they waited for Mr Schuester to arrive. Whoever scheduled the Glee Club meetings during their winter break should be knocked upside the head. He sighed loudly and played around with his phone, letting out a big yawn. He heard footsteps approaching and his gaze moved towards the door, feeling a pang of disappointment when Tina walked through the door. He sighed. He had hoped Rachel would come to the choir room at any moment, smiling and blabbing on about her 32394234 ideas for Regionals. He hadn't seen her since he dropped her off at home after the tree farm where he officially broke up with her. Despite everything that happened, he missed her terribly and he had hoped despite their current state he'd see her today. But it never happened. Rachel did not show up at the meeting. It was weird. Too weird.

"Hey white boy, where's your lady?" Mercedes yelled at him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Finn knitted his eyebrows together in confusion and looked at her.

"She's not my lady anymore," he whispered with a thick voice, "and I don't know." Mercedes eyed him from head to toe and rolled her eyes, turning towards Quinn, Santana and Tina. Finn leaned back and felt a sudden rage fill his veins as he heard the girls talking about Rachel.

"Mrs Perfect misses a Glee rehearsal? What's up with that? Isn't she the one who usually begs for extra rehearsal?" Quinn said and looked over to Santana who chuckled.

"She probably is pissed that Finnocence broke up with her and she didn't get to sing a solo or duet at Sectionals. We know miss drama queen, she probably wants to freak us out a little and beg her to come back." Finn glared over to the girls in anger and stood up all of the sudden, grabbing his backpack and walking out of the room. Tina looked after him, while Mercedes laughed and Santana rolled her eyes.

"Despite their break up he is still so hung up on her." Santana muttered and grabbed her nail file from Brittany.

Finn walked over to his car and threw his stuff on the back seat, getting in and driving off. He quickly debated whether he should call Rachel and see if she was okay. This was so unlike her. He knew her better. Instead of calling tho he headed towards her house, pulling into the drive way. His eyebrows raised as he spotted her Daddy's car, but her Dad's was gone. He got out and walked over to the door, knocking and ringing the bell but not receiving an answer. He sighed and fished his phone out of his pocket, dialing Rachel's number. He waited and waited, but no one was answering. It wasn't until he took a step back and looked up at her window, that he heard the familiar tune of Faithfully coming faintly from there. He sighed. Well at least she was home. With that he turned and walked over to his car, getting in to drive home. As soon as he arrived he spotted Kurt at the window, looking angry. REALLY angry. He sighed and parked the car, getting out to walk into the house, but before he even was able to set a foot inside, Kurt hit his chest.

"What have you done to Rachel?" He growled and his nostrils flared up. Finn looked at him dumbstruck and shrugged his shoulders.

"She isn't answering any of my calls, text and she doesn't open the door ever since the tree farm. WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO!" Kurt now screamed at him with a high pitched voice. Finn took a step back and stared.

"I...I...didn't do anything. OKAY? She kissed Puck not me." With that Finn stormed past Kurt and ran up to his room, locking the door and letting himself fall on his bed. His heart was thumping loudly against his chest and he thought it might explode. Sure the entire world blamed him for everything. For making Rachel miserable. Maybe it was her own fault as well? But yeah he of course was the jerk. Frustrated, Finn grabbed his remote control and turned on his tv, leaning over to press the power button his xbox. He needed to blow off some steam.

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It was a rather beautiful Monday morning. The sun was shining slightly despite the huge amount of snow outside, everyone was left their house to enjoy the new sun rays. Everyone expect for Rachel Berry. She was buried underneath a pile of blankets and dreaded to even move. While everyone celebrated their post Christmas euphoria she was stuck alone at home most of the time, crying and mourning. She didn't even have the energy and will power to get up and attend the glee club meetings. As on cue her cell phone beeped and for what seemed like the first time in days she moved her arm and grabbed it.

"_You need to come to the hospital now, sweet pea." _

As if Rachel was struck by lightening, she jumped up and made her way into her closet, getting out a black plaid skirt, black thighs and a white sweatshirt. She quickly got dressed and grabbed her black cardigan as she rushed downstairs and put on her red coat and white hat. Rachel had been waiting for this text message in days and she had the feeling whatever will happen from now on wouldn't be anything good. She mentally prepared for the worst but it didn't prepare her for anything that was going to happen.

She took her dad's car to drive down to the hospital, taking several deep breathes as she parked it in the hospitals lot and walked inside. For the first time in her life Rachel felt nervous, so nervous she was sick to her stomach. For once she hoped the doctor would bear some good news. Just for once. She sighed as she stepped out of the elevator and immediately saw her Dad standing in the hall, his face tear stained, his eyes tired and empty. She quickly ran over to him and opened her arms, wrapping them around him as tight as she could, feeling tears of her own roll down her cheeks.

"How is he?" She mumbled into his shoulder and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"Not good baby." Her father whispered, a sob immediately escaping his mouth as Rachel pulled away slightly to look at him. She had never seen in the 16 years of life her father so broken, scared and sad.

"He'll make it through, right?" Her voice was shaky and she swallowed a lump in her throat, more tears tickling down her cheeks as her father simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Mr Berry?" A tall, black haired man appeared, looking over at Rachel and her father. Hiram turned around and nodded his head, taking his daughter's hand into his.

"There is some stuff I want to talk to you about." He said with a low voice. Hiram nodded his head and turned his head towards Rachel, giving her a slight smile and cupping her cheek.

"Sweetie, can you go look after your father for a while. I will later explain to you everything. Okay?" He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead, smiling as Rachel wiped her tears away and nodded her head. She walked into her daddy's hospital room, gasping at the sight. Her father was motionlessly laying on the bed, tubes and needles seemed to come from everywhere in his body. Rachel felt her stomach turn as she walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, grabbing Leroy's hand.

"Hi daddy, it's me." She started to speak and smiled a little, moving her hand over his forehead. Despite the tubes and needles, he looked like he was sleeping peacefully and the constant beeping to her right assured her he was in fact still alive. Just not all there.

"NO...I am not gonna pull the plug. NEVER." Rachel suddenly heard Hiram yell from the other side of the door. She gasped in shock and got up, pressing her ear against the door.

"But Mr Berry...the chances of him waking up from his stroke are minimal. We don't know yet what damaged was caused and even if he woke up, we wouldn't know how long he'd survive with the lump in his lung." Rachel felt herself grow stiff as she grasped he door handle and pressed her ear harder against the door.

"I don't care. It's too early. There is NO WAY we'll end it all now." Hiram yelled and pulled the door open. Rachel stumbled forward and looked up into the face of her father. Her lips moved, but nothing came out. She felt her stomach turn yet again, her head spinning as tears started to pour out of her body. It hit her. Just now. Her father might die. One of the only people who had loved her unconditionally all her life is dying. Before she realized what was happening, her feet started moving and she ran. She ran towards the stairs and ran down the five flights of stairs, not caring about anything or anyone else. She just felt like she needed to run. Run away from the pain that was breaking her heart all over again.

The cold air hit her body, but Rachel ignored it. She crossed her arms and rub them against herself, her feet still running. She ran and ran and even as her legs grew tired, she was still running. Her entire body was shaking due to the cold and sobs escaping her throat. Soon Rachel felt her legs give in, so she slumped down on a bench and cried, cried harder as she had ever before. She looked around and squinted her eyes, her vision blurry. On top of that it started snowing and the sun was setting and she knew she had to get home. Slowly she got herself off the bench again and started to walk.

An hour later, Rachel stopped walking as she noticed a familiar house in front of her. She drew in a deep breath through her clattering teeth, clutching her arms tightly. Her entire body was shaking and she was wet and cold. It was a very dumb idea to run from the hospital without her coat. She sighed. As she stood on the sidewalk, staring at the house in front of her and debating whether she should knock or not, she spotted Finn at his window. He was staring right back at her and it looked like all his blood was drained from his body. Soon he disappeared and a moment later he came storming out of the door, running over to Rachel.

"RACH...what the heck are you doing?" He yelled at her and put his hands on her shoulders, flinching as he felt the wet and ice cold cardigan under his fingers.

"I...ran..just ran..." Her voice was faint and low, her body still shivering.

"C'mon let's get you inside." He said and guided her towards the house.

"Sweetie, what are...oh my god." Carole Hudson spoke and immediately rushed over to Rachel, who had her arms still wrapped around her body. Her hair was wet and her lips blue.

"What happened?" Carole gasped and looked at Finn, leading Rachel over to the couch.

"I don't know. I wanted to open the window for a second and I saw her standing on the sidewalk like that. I don't know what happened..." He mumbled and grabbed a blanket.

"Stay with her here, I'll go find some dry clothes to wear for her." Carole said and rushed out of the living room. Finn sat down next to Rachel and gently grabbed her ice cold hands, taking them in his own. He flinched lightly at the cold feeling of them, turning her body slowly towards him.

"What happened." He asked again with a low, soothing voice. Rachel made a face as she tried to fight the shaking of her body.

"I was at the hospital..." She started to say slowly. Finn nodded his head and brushed his thumbs over her hands, in attempt to warm her up.

"Cause...daddy...is there." A new set of tears filled her eyes and Rachel fought the upcoming sob with every fiber of her body. The same moment Carole came back and stopped as she saw her son staring at Rachel, a clear look of sorrow in his eyes.

"And...he...he...had a stroke..you know...and...he...he's sick Finn...really sick." Her voice was thin and weak and Finn was scared she'd faint at any second, but Rachel Berry was a fighter. One of his hands let go of hers and moved up to her cheek, wiping the tears away from her face gently. Carole smiled as she moved over to the couch and put down the clothes she picked out for Rachel, touching Finns arm to get his attention.

"Can you go make her a tea and go turn on the heater on in your room? She needs to warm up slowly. In the mean time I will help her change clothes and put her wet ones away." Rachel watched Finn get up and she took a deep breath as Carole slowly moved her arms up above her head, taking off her cardigan and shirt. She smiled at Rachel and took a t-shirt and put it over her head. Next she put a grey William McKinley High School hoodie over her head, which clearly belonged to Finn. It smelled like him and it was too big. Her entire body almost disappeared underneath it, causing Carole to chuckle.

"I'm sorry the clothes are so big." She smiled and took the thermometer from the table, sticking it in Rachel's mouth as she kept undressing and redressing her. Some time later Finn came back into the living room and smiled as he saw Rachel leaning back against the couch. Her lips still had a tinge of blue and her teeth still clattered a little, but she wasn't trembling anymore.

"Okay Finn...I have to leave for work soon. She has a temperature of 91°F which is low, but not bad. I want you to put her in your bed and get some extra blankets. Keep checking her temperature and call me to tell how she is. If you think anything is weird call me too." She smiled and kissed her son's cheek, stroking Rachel face with her hand.

"I'll go tell your father where you are okay, sweetie? If you guys need anything don't hesitate to ring me." With that Carole got up and threw Rachel clothes in a hamper near the basement door, getting her keys and purse.

"Tha...Thanks...Mrs Hummel." Rachel whispered and turned her head to look at her. She smiled and left the house, leaving Finn and Rachel alone.

"Come on let's get you upstairs. You look exhausted. Maybe you can try to sleep a bit." Finn smiled and looked at Rachel, who nodded her head and slowly moved herself in a standing position. He saw her struggling, so he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up bridal style, carrying her up the stairs and into his room. Rachel stared at him with sad eyes, sighing as he put her down on his bed. He quickly wrapped the sheets around her body and put some extra blankets over her, sitting next to her. Rachel felt her eyelids grow heavier as she yawned loudly.

"I'm so sorry Finn..." she whispered and Finn shook his head, putting a finger on her cold lips.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." He replied and smiled a little at her, wiping away a few tears from her cheek that started to fall down.

"Of course...," she sobbed quietly and pressed her face more into his hand.

"I screwed up...and I lost you and now I'm losing daddy." Her lower lip started to tremble and more tears poured down her face. Finn felt a tug at his heart and felt his own eyes fill with tears. He knew the feeling of losing a parent.

"He'll be fine...shhht..he'll be fine." He mumbled and slowly shifted around. He raised the sheets and slid underneath them, wrapping his arms around Rachel's body to pull her closer. She immediately wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed her face into it, muffled sobs the only sounds to be heard in the room. They stayed like this for a while until Rachel grew quiet and he noticed she was asleep in his arms. Instead of moving he snuggled further into her and closed his eyes, falling asleep as well.


	2. Truth be told, I miss you

_**All mistakes are mine**_

**Chapter Two**

A couple of hours later Finn felt Rachel stir beside him. He opened his eyes and looked down at her, smiling as he spotted her trying to get her hair out of her face. He let out a slight chuckled and moved his hand to help her. She let a small giggle escape her and Finn felt his heart flutter at the sound. He had missed that giggle so much. His hand lingered behind her ear and both of them didn't move an inch. For a moment they just stared into each others eyes. It was Rachel who broke the gaze as she felt something buzzing beneath her. She moved and picked up Finn's phone, looking at the screen before handing it to him.

"It's your mom," she whispered as he took it and accepted the call. Rachel watched him as he got up and started to pace around the room, burying herself under the sheets again to shield herself from the cold air. She felt a lot warmer, but still not warm enough. Which was weird since Finn looked like he had sweat the entire time. His shirt was soaked and his forehead was glistening.

"Sorry about that...," he mumbled and sat down on the bed again, tugging at his shirt .

"Why are you hot? I am freezing." She said and sat up a little.

"It's hot in here Rachel. Mom said you'd feel cold altho it's like Florida during the summer in here. Which reminds me, she wants me to check your temperature." He took the thermometer and stuck into her mouth, pushing her down so she was laying again.

"My mom talked to your dad. He was worried sick. He said you can stay here. Tomorrow morning after my mom's night shift ends she'll pick you up to go to your house to get some stuff and if you want to she'll take you to the hospital to go see your dads." He smiled a little and brushed his hands against her forehead, taking the thermometer out of her mouth.

"Are you coming with me?" She whispered and pulled her knees up to her chest. Finn shook his head no as he grabbed his phone to text his mother, looking up at her.

"I have Glee practice so I cannot come. I will have to attend, cause you know my mom said so and Mr Shue would be pissed if I miss it. By the way if you want me to, I'll let the glee kids know about yo..." He tried to finish but Rachel cut him off mid sentence.

"No...I don't want them to know just yet. If they ask why I am not around, just tell them I have tonsillitis again. I don't wanna deal with anyone's pity. They're not my friends." She said sharply as her red and puffy eyes filled with tears yet again. Rachel flinched a little as Finn put his hand on her shoulder, looking at him as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Don't," she whispered and buried her face in her knees.

"Rachel..you know they're your friends...They love you and care about you." Finn tried to convince her, but she just raised her head and moved away.

"You think they love me? Sure...They don't even_ LIKE_ me. Until Sectionals they at least valued my talent, but as you can see, they don't even need me for that anymore. Santana, Quinn and Brittany are constantly out to get me. They hate me. Tina is too wrapped up with Mike to care and Mercedes hates my guts. Puck is Puck. He seems to be the only one to actually cares a little about how I feel, but he cannot stand me for too long either." She ranted, slowly panting. Finn moved towards her and tried to speak, but Rachel shushed him and shook her head.

"I hurt you Finn...I get that...but you hurt me too. I don't need your pity. The only people on this planet who love me unconditionally are my dads. I always thought you'd be the same, but I guess I was wrong. I lost you, I hurt you and now I am going to lose my daddy as well and in a blink of time I'll be all alone." Sobs escaped her body and she got up and ran out of the room into the bathroom, locking herself in. Finn immediately jumped up and followed her, banging his fist against the door.

"Rachel..open up...please..." he begged and kept hitting the door. Rachel ignored him, sitting on the toilet with her knees tucked underneath her chin. She noticed her body trembling a little and cursed herself, rocking slightly back and forth while tears kept falling down her cheeks.

"Leave me alone." She said and rubbed her face against her arms, letting out a long sigh. She heard the banging getting fainter until it completely stopped. She moved her head up and heard a soft thump against the door, not knowing Finn slid down the length of the door and was now sitting against it.

"Rachel. You may or may not believe it, but I am not pitying you. I, of all people, actually understand how you feel. I grew up with only a mother. I never knew my father unlike you, so losing him must be a hundred times worse. I don't want to give you pity, but if something happens, I wanna be there to help you deal with it. I know Kurt will be there as well. He lost his Mom when he was younger. I know you're strong most of the time, but even you need to accept the fact that you cannot be strong all the time. I wanna be there for you. I need to make sure you're okay. We may not be together anymore, but I still care about you and fact is you're my friend." Finn let out a deep sigh and tilted his head back in frustration. Seeing Rachel so vulnerable and broken showed him once more he wasn't over her. It showed him that he needed her and he needed to be there for her to make sure she was okay. She kissed Puck and hurt him, but he needed to put his feelings aside for a moment. Truth was, he missed her like crazy. As his girlfriend, but even more as his friend.

"Please...open the door...you must be freezing..." he whispered and rubbed his face. His heart made a jump as he heard Rachel move around and unlock the door. He got up on his feet immediately and towered over her, opening his arms as he saw her shivering.

"Come here..." he mumbled and wrapped his arms tightly around her as she buried herself in his embrace.

"Thank you..." Her voice was muffled and low, but Finn caught what she said and smiled a little. He shifted and led her back to the room, motioning her to lay down on the bed to tuck her in.

"Catch some more sleep." She smiled and snuggled deeper into the sheets and blankets, closing her eyes. He watched her as she fell asleep once again, his heart fluttering a little.

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The next morning Rachel got up and felt already a lot better. She noticed a slight sweat on her forehead and smiled, stretching her muscles. She inhaled deeply, noticing that the hoodie she was wearing still smelled like Finn. She smiled as she got out of bed and made her way downstairs. The smell of pancakes filled her nostrils and she felt her stomach growl in response.

"Good Morning," Finn greeted her, balancing a pan and a plate in his hands. She flashed him a tiny smile as she noticed a little flour on his nose, walking over to the table.

"Morning Finn." She sat down and looked at it, discovering a plate filled with fruits and pancakes, a bowl of cereals and a jug of orange juice.

"I made some vegan pancakes...with the help of Burt. I am not sure if they're okay, so I cut up some fruits too." He smiled his half smile and put some pancakes on her plate. Rachel felt her eyes fill with tears again. This time out of joy.

"That's very thoughtful of you, Finn...thank you." She whispered and grabbed a fork, taking a bite of the pancake on her plate. She made a face as she chewed, scrunching up her nose. Finn started to laugh and grabbed the plate, tossing the pancakes into the trashcan.

"You may eat the fruits only." He chuckled and grabbed his cereal, almost chugging them down in one bite. Rachel giggled and nodded her head, eating the fruits as she watched Finn. The two of them sat in silence until Rachel heard the front door open and Carole come inside.

"Hey there...," she yawned and put her stuff away, stopping dead in her tracks.

"What the heck happened here?" She asked in shock as she noticed flour all over the floor, pans and plates stacked in the sink. Her jaw dropped and she rolled her eyes.

"I made Rachel breakfast..." Finn shrugged and immediately got up t puto his bowl away and wipe the flour off the ground. Rachel bit her lower lip as she saw Carole's eyebrows shoot up in disbelieve.

"You want to tell me you actually got up before 8 am to cook?" Finn's head shot up with a sheepish smile.

"Rachel needs all her strength and stuff. Plus, I couldn't sleep. The bed in the guest room is uncomfortable and in my room it was like a sauna." He shrugged his shoulders and kept cleaning until Carole walked over and stopped him.

"How about you two go take a shower while I finish up here. Than you get to practise while I drive with Rachel over to her house to pick up some stuff and take her to the hospital afterwards?" Rachel's eyebrow raised and she shook her head.

"No, Mrs Hummel..I mean..you just came home from your night shift. You must be exhausted...I can to..." Rachel tried to say but Carole cut her off.

"Sweetie, don't worry. I slept a little during my shift. Plus, I won't allow you to go out there all alone. I'm fine really." She smiled and walked over to her. Rachel got up immediately and looked at her for a second, opening her arms to wrap them around her.

"Thank you...so much," she whispered and felt Carole squeeze her slightly, placing a kiss on the side of her head.

"You're welcome. How about you finish your fruits while I go get your stuff? You can shower at home and slip into something more comfortable." Rachel nodded and sat down at the table again, picking up her fork to finish her breakfast. Finn grinned at them and followed his Mom upstairs.

"How is her dad, mom?" He asked as he grabbed some clean clothes. Carol let out a long sigh and turned to look at her son.

"Not good sweetie. He's in a coma and no one knows when and if he'll wake up again. There is a lump in his lung as well. It's cancer." She smiled sadly and Finn looked at her.

"Well if it's cancer, they can give him like chemo can't they? That's what they did with Aunt Anna when she had breast cancer." He said with confidence, his small faltering as his mom shook her head.

"It's not that simple. Lung cancer is only treatable when it's in an early stadium. They can take out the lung that's affected and receive chemo to prevent it from coming back, but if it's passed the second stadium or has spread, he's gonna die from it." Finn stared at his mother as she spoke, feeling like time slowed down around him.

"Bu-bu-but...I mean...does Rachel know that?" He said and Carol shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know how much she knows, but I think for now she shouldn't know. It's already tough in her, let's not make it worse." Finn nodded his head and took a step towards his mother, kissing her cheek before walking into the bathroom to shower. He couldn't believe what he just heard. He just knew her dad had to fight. He couldn't leave her alone.


End file.
